SUNRISE, Fla. – Pretty, it was not. But for Henry Martinez, it got the job done.

Martinez, who along with Bernardo Magalhaes on Friday was seeking his first career UFC win, did enough in the striking department to pick up a split decision. Martinez picked up the win with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 28-29 – though the result initially was announced as a unanimous-decision win for him.

The lightweight fight took place at UFC on FX 3 at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. It streamed live on Facebook prior to additional prelims on FUEL TV and an FX-televised main card.

The sparse early crowd at BankAtlantic Center didn’t quite get into the fight, which was contested almost entirely on the feet. In the first round, Martinez survived a short ground scramble that saw Magalhaes looking for a leg lock. And in the third round, a pair of short scrambles on the canvas amounted to nothing much for either fighter.

Instead, the bout amounted to the two fighters exchanging quick combinations on the feet, and peppering in a few leg kicks. Martinez appeared to be the busier and more active fighter from the opening bell, though Magalhaes often found success landing counters. In the end, it may have been Martinez’s activity and ability to seemingly push the pace a little more that earned him the nod.

“It feels great to get my first win in the UFC,” Martinez said after the fight. “I had an easy weight cut and I was ready to fight. I felt like I was able to do what I wanted to do and control the fight wherever it ended up. Even when he took me down, I was able to get right back up.”

Martinez (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), a Greg Jackson-trained fighter, got a much-needed first UFC victory after dropping a split decision to Matthew Riddle in his promotional debut in February. Magalhaes (11-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) falls to 0-2 in the promotion after dropping a decision to Tim Means earlier this year.

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